Bruce Gilden at the Leica Gallery Melbourne

Leica friends in Australia have good reason to celebrate: up until November, when the Leica Gallery Melbourne with store attached was inaugurated, there had only been a Leica store in Sydney; now there is a Leica gallery on Australian soil as well. With 220 square metres, visitors have the delightful opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of Leica, with exhibitions changing every quarter, and open seven days a week.

To launch the series of exhibitions, the gallery has chosen none other than the renowned Magnum photographer, Bruce Gilden. The show, Bruce Gilden – Untitled, presents striking pictures of the Italian/Australian business man, Mick Gatto, and his friends, whom Gilden spent time with in 2011. The unusual scenarios, capturing the protagonists in typical Gilden style, direct and unadorned, in tough black and white, are part Australia, a series unpublished till now.

Gilden has always taken pictures up close, aiming to reveal the very souls of his subjects. He is particularly fascinated by tenacious people, whose appearance conveys a strong and emotional content. Without a doubt, this preference is found once again in the Untitled portraits: they show bizarre scenes, ruthless emotions and tough guys. Gilden only has positive things to say about his protagonist, Mick Gatto, a former boxer who enjoys a questionable reputation in the world of business: “He introduced me to many of his friends, and picked me up every day. I had a great time with him. Mick was always polite and smart – a real gentleman.”

The Untitled exhibition is being presented to the general public for the first time in the world, and exclusively in Melbourne. It is proving a great success: the impressions from the launch party on November 22 show that Leica has now truly arrived in Australia and is here to stay. Untitled will remain on display in Melbourne until January 31, 2019. It will be followed by an exhibition by the Austrian photographer Manfred Baumann.

Further information about the Leica Gallery & Store Melbourne can be found at: Leica-Store.com.au.

Up until January 31, 2019: Bruce Gilden – Untitled, Leica Galerie Melbourne, Level 1 St Collins Lane, 260 Collins Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000 Australia